Elephant ear tubers- Need help cooking!

**Durgan** · 10-09-2008, 07:16 PM

http://www.durgan.org/ShortURL/?OFGLW 9 October 2008 Elephant ears (Colocasia esculenta)
Frost has arrived, so the roots were dug today, and now I have to decide how to cook as an experiment. This is my first experience with cooking the roots.

http://www.durgan.org/ShortURL/?HOJAV Summary: Elephant ears. Colocasia esculenta

**Missourimom** · 10-09-2008, 08:08 PM

I had no idea you could cook these.

**Durgan** · 10-09-2008, 08:32 PM

I got this off the UBC Forum. http://www.durgan.org/ShortURL/?LDFML
lorax
Location: Ecuador SA Zone 12/13
Re: Elephant ear tubers-Need help cooking!
We eat them down here! Colocasia are one of the things we call PapaChina, and they're delicious.

Wash the tubers well, peel them, and boil them until they become tender. Then bake them in the oven at about 350 F for half an hour to 45 minutes. For the second cooking process, you can also boil them again, cut them into chips and deep-fry them, sautee them in lemon butter, throw them in your crockpot with the rest of your soup, or pretty much anything else you'd do to a normal potato.

The first cooking process denatures the oxalate crystals, and the second converts the starch to something digestible. I am particularly fond of the boil-and-bake process, although boil-and-steam-in-the-foil-with-a-fish is also very tasty.

**Ceashels** · 10-09-2008, 08:36 PM

I think I would go with the boil and bake. I love roasted root veggies. When you try them let us know how they turn out!

**Katybird** · 10-09-2008, 08:45 PM

Wow, they sound very labor intensive to cook. I will be curious to see how they taste and how you decide to cook them.

**Durgan** · 10-09-2008, 11:18 PM

http://www.durgan.org/ShortURL/?AQDQH 9 October 2008 Cooking Elephant ears (Colocasia esculenta)

Wash the tubers well, peel them, and boil them until they become tender (20 minutes in a Pressure Cooker). Then bake them in the oven at about 350 F for half an hour to 45 minutes. The first cooking process denatures the oxalate crystals, and the second converts the starch to something digestible.

Most pleasant to eat. Variety in one's diet if the tubers are available.

**Laurie in Bradenton** · 10-10-2008, 07:58 AM

I've seen them for sale in Florida at the flea markets as we have alot of islanders here. Have never had them. Also saw them for sale all over Ohua at the veggie stands. Will explore some of my cookbooks and see what I come up with.

Laurie in Bradenton

**Durgan** · 10-10-2008, 10:37 AM

http://www.durgan.org/ShortURL/?BEAQX 10 October 2008 Mature Tuber of Elephant ear or Taro (Colocasia esculenta)
My plant only produced one mature tuber, due to the shortness of the season in Zone 5.

http://www.durgan.org/ShortURL/?HOJAV Summary: Elephant ears. Colocasia esculenta